La Vallée-du-Richelieu (, The Valley of the Richelieu) is a regional county municipality in the Montérégie region in southwestern Quebec, Canada. Its seat is McMasterville.

It surrounds the Richelieu River as the river flows north from Lake Champlain in the United States to the Saint Lawrence River northeast of Montreal at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec. Dramatically different from the mountainous terrain to the south, the river valley is a vast plain that has been developed with extensive farmlands.

In the 21st century, the Richelieu River is very popular for both U.S. and Canadian recreational boaters, providing a connection that can bring boaters all the way from the outlet of the Saint Lawrence River to New York Harbor. A number of old fortifications exist dating back to the 17th century; they were built by the French in an effort to try to prevent the Iroquois from using the river as a way to attack the French settlers in the area. Fort Richelieu is at the mouth of the Richelieu River. Fort St. Louis (now Fort Chambly) at Chambly, Fort Sainte-Thérèse, and Fort Saint-Jean at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, are on the way. Fort St. Anne Isle La Motte, Vermont in Lake Champlain is near the river's source. The region is informally known as la Vallée-des-Forts.

Subdivisions There are 13 subdivisions within the RCM:

Cities & Towns (7) Beloeil Carignan Chambly McMasterville Mont-Saint-Hilaire Otterburn Park Saint-Basile-le-Grand

Municipalities (6) Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu Saint-Jean-Baptiste Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil

Former municipalities Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville (now part of the Urban agglomeration of Longueuil)

Demographics Population

Language Canada Census Mother Tongue - La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec Census Total Year Responses Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % 117,755 2.84% 89.34% 6,010 50.6% 4.56% 1,965 19.5% 1.49% 6,010 50.8% 4.56% 114,405 5.7% 92.6% 3,990 1.7% 3.2% 1105 77.82% 0.80% 3985 61.0% 2.14% 108,230 9.5% 93.55% 4,060 0.6% 3.51% 925 55.5% 0.80% 2,475 4.4% 2.14% 98,870 8.6% 93.39% 4,035 41.9% 3.81% 595 43.3% 0.56% 2,370 2.1% 2.24% 108,215 5.8% 91.22% 6,950 2.7% 5.86% 1,050 8.8% 0.88% 2,420 3.2% 2.04% 102,310 n/a 90.60% 7,145 n/a 6.33% 965 n/a 0.85% 2,500 n/a 2.21%

Transportation Access Routes Highways and numbered routes that run through the municipality, including external routes that start or finish at the county border:

Autoroutes

Principal Highways

Secondary Highways

External Routes None

See also List of regional county municipalities and equivalent territories in Quebec

References

External links Fort Richelieu official site